This was stated in a press release by EFCC on Thursday evening on X, saying the arrest was made by its operatives of the Enugu Zonal Command in conjunction with a Joint Task Force comprising five teams from the Nigeria Police Force and three teams from the Nigeria Customs Service.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed the arrest of 115 suspected currency racketeers in Enugu State.
This was stated in a press release by EFCC on Thursday evening on X, saying the arrest was made by its operatives of the Enugu Zonal Command in conjunction with a Joint Task Force comprising five teams from the Nigeria Police Force and three teams from the Nigeria Customs Service.
The statement said the security operatives “on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, arrested 115 (One hundred and fifteen) suspected currency racketeers in Enugu State.”
It continued: “The suspects comprising 113 (One hundred and thirteen) males and two females were arrested in a sting operation at Owerri Road, Ogui, Enugu State, following credible intelligence about some bureau de change operators, currency speculators and street hawkers operating illegal foreign exchange markets in that environment.
“Items recovered from them include N110,700,000.00 (One Hundred and Ten Thousand, Seven Hundred Naira only), $8,368.00 (Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Sixty Eight United States Dollars), £145.00 (One Hundred and Forty-Five Pounds), €2,725 (Two Thousand, Seven Hundred Twenty-Five Euros), 900 South African Rands, 32,000.00 CFA, 100 Turkiya, and 500 Bank Mozambique currencies in different denominations. A safe abandoned by one of the street hawkers was also recovered.
“Preliminary investigation showed that some of the suspects are foreigners from Niger Republic.
“They would soon be charged to court,” the statement added.
SaharaReporters had also reported how security operatives on Wednesday raided some Bureau De Change outlets in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, arresting over 100 operators as the country’s currency slipped further.
Popular cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance, also confirmed that its official website could no longer be accessed by Nigerian users.
This was stated in a statement released by the firm on Thursday, assuring its Nigerian users that the situation should not make them panic as their funds were still very protected.